Bedankt voor een prachtige Plantenmarkt
Op 26 en 27 september vond de vierde Ambachtelijke Plantenmarkt plaats, samen met Gardeners’ World Magazine. Dank aan alle bezoekers, aan de kwekers en ambachtelijke makers, en aan de ruim honderd vrijwilligers en dertig scouts die het mogelijk maakten.
De vijfde editie is op zaterdag 25 en zondag 26 september 2027.
Photo © Liesbeth Disbergen
GARDENS OF DE WIERSSE
Embedded in the Achterhoek scenery are the enchanting gardens of Landgoed de Wiersse. Here, visitors experience garden art as found in England, France or Italy, but in this case directly connected to the surrounding landscape. The gardens are characterised by alternating between grand views and romantic formality. With stream and ponds, heath plants and ferns, a meandering beech foliage corridor, bridges, fountains and statues, the gardens offer a surprise around every corner. Surrounding the gardens are 32 hectares of landscaped parkland. The estate has been occupied and managed by the family since 1678, which has provided a rare continuity.
The Telegraph 2019: "This garden is a viewing game, a feast for the observant eye. A quiet, slow ballet performance for the walker who sees changing vistas pass by, between a few tightly clipped boxwood trees."
Algemeen Dagblad: "The most beautiful garden in the Netherlands"
Oxford Companion to the Garden: "One of the best kept estates in the country"
1001 gardens you must see before you die: "Probably the best maintained private estate in the Netherlands, occupies a special place in Dutch garden art."
Jury Friends Lottery Castle Prize 2025: 'Most extraordinary garden in NL' (first prize De Wiersse): "[G]reat appreciation for the consistent and careful management of this country estate over many years. De Wiersse is a rare example of a privately owned country estate where the complete ensemble (the house, the gardens, the landscape and the management) still functions as a coherent whole. The judges were impressed by the high quality of conservation, of both the material heritage and the landscape design. The garden is internationally renowned and maintained to an exceptional standard."
BROCHURE & MAP
(click for download)
WINNER of Friends Lottery Castle Prize 2025 'Most extraordinary garden in the Netherlands'
The gardens of De Wiersse are winners of the 'Most unusual garden in the Netherlands' award, presented by the Day of the Castle and the Friends Lottery! Out of some 34 entries, we were chosen first by the jury as the top 10, then by the public as the top 3 and then by the jury as the winner. The other top 3 listings were for Paleis het Loo and Landgoed Kasteel Geldrop.
See the Castle Day website for more details.
Welcome to the shop & café
The shop and café are open on the same days as the garden. Check current opening days and times on the page Open days. A visit to the shop & café is also possible without a garden ticket.
In the coach house you will find the shop of De Wiersse, a place you may recognise above all from English country-house gardens, here in the Achterhoek. A collection of books, tools, small household wonders and regional products, carefully chosen. Everything we serve in the simple café comes from nearby and is as organic as possible. Fresh coffee from the roastery De Pelikaan from Zutphen, with organic milk. Tea from Wilderland: Dutch wild herbs picked for nature restoration. Kombucha from Wilderland in three flavours, apple juice from local historic orchards, and toasties on organic bread from Driekant bakery with organic cheese from Ruurlo. The tosti also comes with organic sauerkraut. A homemade cake (carrot or cinnamon) from Bakkerij ten Broeke in Lochem, a vegan walnut brownie, and organic ice lollies.
All proceeds go directly to the upkeep of the garden.
SUSTAINABILITY & HERITAGE
hand in hand
We develop sustainable solutions to balance heritage conservation and ecological responsibility, such as:
- In recent years, 10,000 m² of lawn has been converted into botanical hay meadows to promote biodiversity.
- Chemical pesticides have been completely eliminated and composting increased.
- We limit the use of machinery
- We minimise sprinkling.
- The former rose garden has been transformed into a meadow with native flora, keeping the historic structures of the 1912 Parterre de Broderie intact.
- During the annual Artisan Plant Market, we provide a platform for sustainable growers and inspire garden lovers to eco-friendly gardening.
- The park landscape of over 32 ha has been extensively managed with agricultural nature management for decades and has never been ploughed. Many unusual species are found here.
- Around the gardens there are nature reserves that we maintain and parts of the garden itself are also designated as protected nature.
De Wiersse is a living example of how heritage and sustainability can go hand in hand. In doing so, we inspire gardens in and outside the Netherlands.
GROUP TOUR OUTSIDE OPENING HOURS
You can book a group tour of the gardens on a day and time of your choice (not Sundays), also outside our regular opening hours. A group tour of the garden costs a total of EUR 142.50 for a group of up to 15 people (EUR 9.50 per person). The tour lasts approximately 1.5 hours.
For an additional 42.50 EURO (total 185 EURO), the Great Hall of Victor de Stuers (in the coach house) is also included in the tour. The tour then lasts approximately 15 minutes longer.
If you are with a larger group, please contact us for the price. A smaller group than 15 people will pay the price for 15 people. Lunch, coffee, tea & cake in coach house or Great Hall is also a possibility.
You can book via this form:
BECOME A FRIEND
Keeping the garden at its internationally recognised high standard requires more work than the permanent staff, interns and volunteers can handle, and more money than the ANBI Foundation, the entire estate, together with private contributions and grants from State and Province, can raise. For a donation from €35,- a year, you are a friend of De Wiersse. As a friend or donor of De Wiersse, you get free access to the gardens during all open days and get annual invitation to the friends meeting.
A donor of more than €175 also receives an annual invitation for two to lunch in the Great Hall.
These amounts apply for the rest of 2026.
From 2027 the system changes. If you become a friend or donor now, at the start of 2027 you will choose again from a season ticket (€ 45 per year: access to the gardens for two people for a whole season), friend (€ 125 per year: friends meeting, friends letter and access to the Artisan Plant Market for two people) or donor (€ 250 per year: all friend benefits plus, among other things, a lunch in the Great Hall).
Donations entirely benefit the gardens of De Wiersse and are tax deductible under certain conditions.
Fill in the form below to become a friend
